Tu Minh Tri

Policy analyst, strategy advisor, and admissions mentor.

I am a policy analyst and strategy advisor based in Ho Chi Minh City. I grew up in Vietnam, studied political economy in the UK, and returned to work on problems closer to home.

Alongside that work I guide a small number of students each year through their applications to universities in the UK and the US.

TMT/1 — Portrait

Education LSE MSc Political Science & Political Economy Cambridge BA Human, Social & Political Sciences

Language of material English

See PE Research and practice Political economy of Vietnam and ASEAN, climate technology, and investment strategy. Start here for professional work. See TE Admissions guidance University applications to the UK and the US, through Trinity Education. Start here if you are choosing a mentor.

PE Series 1
Research and practice

Political economy of Vietnam and the region

My research interests include carbon pricing in ASEAN, trade shocks, land rights, and the institutional foundations of development in Vietnam and the wider region.

I bring political economy analysis into my current work: shaping investment strategy across the China–Vietnam industrial corridor at Tao Venture Partners, and advising enterprise clients on carbon accounting and regulatory compliance at Persefoni.

Current role Customer Solutions Manager, Persefoni

Advisory work Strategy & Intelligence Advisor, Tao Venture Partners

Admissions consulting Co-founder, Trinity Education — see TE

Region Vietnam and ASEAN

Download curriculum vitae (PDF)

WR Series 2
Writings

Essays

Long-form pieces on Vietnamese politics, land, identity, and regional energy. Each is published in full here.

WR/1 March 2026 · Essay Vietnam's Land Disputes: A Political History Why seventy percent of all administrative complaints in Vietnam concern land, and what the deadly confrontation at Dong Tam reveals about the structural contradiction at the heart of the Vietnamese state. WR/2 March 2026 · Essay Nationalism and Vietnamese Identity Vietnam's rising nationalist sentiment rests on a nation that is younger and more contested than its advocates assume. An argument for replacing inherited pride with something more honest. WR/3 May 2026 · Essay After Hormuz: The Case for ASEAN Energy Sovereignty When the Strait of Hormuz closed in 2026, Southeast Asia had nowhere to turn. This essay argues the crisis is not an exception but the predictable result of fifty years of choosing short-term relief over structural reform.

Guidance for students applying abroad

I co-founded Trinity Education to bring high quality university admissions guidance to students in Vietnam. We work with a small number of students each cycle on UK and US university applications, with particular expertise in Oxbridge, Russell Group, and T-30 US programmes.

Our approach is tailored rather than formulaic. We help students develop genuine intellectual positions and communicate them honestly, rather than optimising for what they think admissions committees want to hear.

Scope of work School choice, personal statements, supplementary essays, interview preparation, and the intellectual story behind an application.

My own placements Cambridge LSE Warwick KCL Johns Hopkins Georgetown

Students advised Students I have worked with have gone on to study at leading institutions in the UK and US, including Oxbridge and the Ivy League.

Related material Trinity Education — trinityeducation.vn

Email about admissions Visit Trinity Education

AC Conditions governing access

Enquiries

I am open to conversations about university admissions guidance through Trinity Education, research collaboration, and investment and advisory work in Vietnam and Southeast Asia.

Email is the best way to reach me. I usually reply within a few days.

Email Tri

Email tuminhtri@outlook.com LinkedIn Tu Minh Tri Substack Under the Shade Trinity trinityeducation.vn